That follows a preliminary project description submitted to the National Energy Board in March. The Energy East pipeline is expected to carry 1.1 million barrels of crude per day from Alberta's oil sands to refineries in Quebec and New Brunswick.

"We would expect it sometime around mid-August, to be able to file with the National Energy Board for the conversion of the gas pipeline and the additional oil facilities that would be constructed," said Russ Girling, speaking on the sidelines of an economic forum in Montreal.